The Actress And The Wrestler
by Jo5
Summary: A snotty actress is invited to Raw and crosses paths with The Rock


**_"The Actress and The Wrestler"_**

RaeJean looked at herself in the small mirror of her dressing room. Looking around at the bare room, with the sparse furnishings, she wondered how the hell she had ended up in this dump. She was an Oscar winning actress for god's sake, she didn't need this. What the hell was her agent thinking?

She remembered back to when he had suggested the idea.

"I'm telling you, Rae, this is your audience." Steve had said.

"A lot of people watch this show, and it wont kill you to put in a live appearance somewhere…"

She had scowled, but she had learned to trust Steve over the years. After all, it was he who had told her about the role in "The Forgotten Land", her latest blockbuster that had won her the long awaited Oscar. So she had reluctantly agreed, moaning continuously that it just wasn't her thing…

The idea was to go on the show, participate in one of their little storylines, and then reap the benefits of the publicity that it would bring her. But now, sat in the dingy little room at the back of the arena, she had begun to lose faith.

"What the hell do I know about wrestling anyway?" She said out loud to herself. She sighed and continued putting on her makeup.

A small monitor sat in the corner of her room. Above that was the script for the show, which she had memorised, even though she didn't understand what the hell it was all about. Her view of wrestling was big sweaty men beating up other big sweaty men. What else was there to it?

She had said as much to Steve, and he had nearly bitten her head off.

"It's not just the matches, it's the entertainment! They have storylines, angles, plots…. it's like a soap opera…"

A soap opera…good god, what is the world coming to, she thought. This afternoon was the rehearsal for tonight's show, something which, the owner had explained, they "don't usually do with the whole, erm, cast, but seeing as it's you, we can make an exception." RaeJean had demanded it of course. There was no way she was going to go on a live show without going over every single detail first.

There was a knock at her door, and a small, timid looking assistant poked her head through the door.

"Miss Brown, if you are ready, Mr. McMahon says could you come down to the ring, please."

"It's Ms. Brown actually. But, yes I'm coming."

Come down to the ring, indeed, she thought. How ridiculous does that sound…

She took her script from the monitor, and flounced past the assistant, and into the corridor, making her way to the ringside, with the assistant scurrying after her.

After many twists and turns, she found herself totally lost. The assistant had fallen behind somewhere, and RaeJean was alone in the arena.

"Shit," she said out loud, and pouted. "Why do these things happen to me?"

"What's the problem?" A deep voice said from behind her. She spun around to face one of the largest men she had ever seen. And she had seen a lot of men. This guy must be 6" 5, at least, she thought with wonder. He wore white trousers and a brightly coloured shirt, which despite its gaudiness, still managed to look good on its owner. Her eyes travelled up from his chest to his face, and her breath caught in her throat. Even with the sunglasses on, she could tell that he was good looking straight away. Hell, good looking was an understatement. I wish I could see his eyes, she thought. She suddenly realised that she had been staring at him, and he was waiting for an answer. Blushing bright red, and not really knowing why, she fumbled for an answer.

"Er, erm, I was er…. well, I was supposed to go to the, erm, ring? And, well, I was walking and I didn't know which way it was, so I kept turning, and I walked a bit more, and I'm lost…"she trailed off, realising that she was babbling. Oh God, He must think I am such a fool! A thought ran despairingly across her mind. I think I want to just lie down and die….

He surprised her by smiling. "Yeah that happens a lot in these places. Lots of ways to get lost around here."

She grinned foolishly, and just managed to stop herself giggling like a teenager. A distracted thought rose from the depths of her mind: What the hell has come over me? I just met the guy, and I'm acting like I'm head over heels…Jesus.

She attempted to regain her composure. "Right, ok, can you tell me the way?" she said, assertively, forcing herself to put on a straight face.

He stopped smiling, and a look of surprised hurt came over his face at her sudden bluntness. "Well, I can show you, if you like, I'm heading that way myself."

"Ok, fine." She said, tearing her eyes away from him. I can't let myself fall for a guy right now, for Christ's sake, she said to herself as she followed his steady walk down the corridor. You don't even know him; he could be anyone…probably just a security guard or something, he was certainly big enough. Yet she couldn't help herself looking at the wide expanse of his back and the rippling muscles so obvious through the thin silk of his shirt…she was beginning to wonder what it would be like to run her hands over those muscles, when they stepped through a curtain, and walked into the bright lights of the arena.

RaeJean looked around without much wonder. She had been involved in the production of large movies; she knew what kind of expanse a film set could cover, and this wasn't much different. Various people were milling about in the ring; she recognised one of them as the owner of the company that produced the show, Vince McMahon. He spotted her on the ramp, and waved her over. She started down the slope, realising that the guy was following her. As she walked up the steel steps and along the apron outside of the ropes, she wondered how the hell she was going to get through the ropes without showing her rear to the entire world.

She looked at Vince despairingly from outside the ropes, but he was busy talking to a technician. Once again, she heard the deep throaty voice from behind her, except closer this time; close enough, in fact to make her shiver and feel red-hot at the same time.

"Rule number one, unless you are one of The Godfather's hos, do not wear a short skirt."

She turned around, feeling humiliated by this mysterious stranger who had affected her emotions so deeply, only to find him sitting on the middle rope, allowing her enough room between the ropes to let her in decently. She smiled a quick sigh of relief and felt her heartbeat quicken when he smiled back. My god, you have GOT to get control of yourself girl, she thought to herself, as she stumbled into the ring, wondering who The Godfather was, and who or what were his hoes. She had a brief vision of Marlon Brando with gardening equipment and quickly dismissed it.

She walked up to Vince, who was discussing lighting schemes with the technician in the ring. He turned around, and smiled briefly.

"Ah, glad you could finally make it. It doesn't matter who you are, punctuality is adhered to around here." He said, looking at her impatiently.

She looked back, and exclaimed indignantly, "Well, if you had sent me someone competent to show me to the ring, then I would have made it on time!"

Activity around them stopped, as people turned to look at RaeJean. Very few people stood up to Vince McMahon.

Vince looked at her for a moment, as if sizing her up. She gave him her best defiant look, usually reserved for her father.

Vince smiled thinly. "Yes well, at least you are here now, so lets get this thing started so we can get it over with, and we can all get some rest before tonight. Is that ok, Miss Brown, or is there anything else you would like to complain about, before we start?"

RaeJean thought about telling him that it was Ms. Brown, and then thought better of it. "No, I think everything else is ok…for now…" she said, with an air of superiority.

"Good." Said Vince as if he had not even noticed her momentary arrogance. "I see you have already met Dwayne." He said.

"I have?" She replied.

"Yes, you have." That incredibly sexy voice came again. "I'm Dwayne Johnson." He held out one large hand to shake her small delicate one. She expected his hand to engulf hers, but his handshake was deceptively gentle, yet strong at the same time.

"Otherwise known as The Rock, " Vince said with a grin.

"The Rock?" she asked, feeling stupid. Then she remembered. She frantically sorted through the pages of her script for the show, finding her parts. Sure enough, The Rock was to be her main "co-star" for the evening. Oh good god, she thought, he's a wrestler? That's even worse than a security guard….

She realised Vince was still speaking. "Dwayne, this is RaeJean Brown."

"I know," said Dwayne. "I recognised you at once, but you seemed a little flustered so I thought I'd leave the introductions for later." He smiled again, showing his perfect set of pearly white teeth.

She smiled back, as if in a dream, recalling the storyline that she was to go through on the show…how am I ever going to get through this without falling hopelessly in love with him? She thought. I can't fall in love with a wrestler…

Fortunately, the rehearsal was just a basic run through of what was to happen that evening; very little actual interaction was needed between the wrestler and herself. She met a few of the other wrestlers, including one guy with some long name she couldn't quite remember, who would be working with her through the show, and who apparently was one of the bad guys in the storyline. She found herself becoming increasingly curious about the way the show worked as the rehearsal went on.

"So, you don't actually rehearse the matches?" she asked Dwayne after the rehearsal had finished, trying to keep her voice steady as she looked at him.

"No, not at all. There are certain key points, but the rest is made up as we go. The ref decides when to end the match," he answered.

"Wow, that's pretty impressive." RaeJean replied; and she meant it. As an actress she knew how difficult improvisation was, especially in front of a large audience, and she told him as much.

For the first time since she had met him, he took his sunglasses off. This was the last straw for the world famous actress; his eyes met hers, and she was transfixed. Unable to help herself, she stared into his fathomless eyes, eyes that held a personality, a charisma, an intelligence that she would never have credited to even an actor, never mind a wrestler. It took her several moments to realise he was staring right back at her. This revelation shocked RaeJean into action. Flustered like never before, she stood up too quickly, sending a Styrofoam cup of water flying from the table that they had been sitting at. It hit a cameraman in the side of the head, pinging off his cheekbone, and drenching him. In his own shock, the wet cameraman flailed backwards with the heavy camera he was holding on his shoulder, losing his balance and falling onto a ladder, which in turn collapsed with a spectacular crash that echoed around the arena.

RaeJean surveyed the scene in quiet horror. She looked back at the wrestler who was looking around at the minor disaster surrounding them with an unbelieving grin on his face. He looked at her, the signs of amazement and humour clearly reflected in the eyes she had so loved a moment before.

"Oh my god." RaeJean said, quietly. Without waiting for a reply, she turned on her heel, and fled to the bathroom, leaving a very bemused wrestler and a soaking cameraman laughing hysterically behind her.

She ran in to one of the cubicles, fighting back the tears as she fumbled for her mobile phone.

Dialling the number from memory, she prayed that her friend would be in. There was a click and a cultured voice with an English accent answered.

"Hello?"

"Jo? Oh my god, you would not believe what I have just done."

"What? Where are you? Are you ok? Are you hurt?" Her friend asked worriedly. Jo was a beautiful, successful best selling author, and RaeJean had only last year starred in the movie adaptation of one of her novels, which had granted the actress much critical acclaim. However, being typically English, Jo always envisioned the worst-case scenario in every situation.

"Yes, I'm ok, but I am so embarrassed. And that bastard laughed at me!"

"Which bastard? I'm confused." Jo answered.

RaeJean told her about everything had happened starting with her arrival at the arena to the chain reaction of chaos she had just caused.

"Oh god, that does sound embarrassing. But I wouldn't blame him for laughing though…I'm sure I would have laughed my ass off…" Jo said. "That is so cool, I wish I could work for the WWF. I love wrestling. And I can't believe you didn't know who Rocky was."

"Rocky? Oh you mean The Rock, yeah, well I don't watch it, do I. And I think you are missing the major point here."

"And what is that, my melodramatic American friend?" replied Jo.

"I've fallen for a wrestler!"

"What's wrong with that? I'd love a bit of muscle…by the way if you see Shane McMahon around, give him my phone number, ok?"

"Who?" asked RaeJean, confused.

"Shane McMa…. oh never mind, he's just the owner's son, that's all, no-one important or anything…"

"Oh. Look, wait a minute; we are supposed to be talking about me, here! I cant fall for a wrestler…I am an Oscar winning actress for God's sake!"

"And the problem is…what?" Asked Jo. "Y'know, just because he is not a 'multi-million dollar Oscar winning performer' like you does not mean he is out of the question. You obviously like him…"

"Oh, I cant just…well, he's…oh, I don't know. It's just out of the question." Answered RaeJean.

"Fine, suit yourself." There was a pause. "Can I have him, then?" Jo asked, slyly.

"What? Oh you are a great load of good, you are."

"That's why you love me. Listen, if you see Vince again, tell him you know a great writer who wants to be on his creative team, ok?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Bye Jo." Said RaeJean, feeling depressed.

"RaeJean? Seriously now, just follow your heart, ok?" said Jo, worried about her friend.

"Well…I'll see."  The actress answered.

"Ok, talk soon. Bye hon."

RaeJean pressed the end call button on her expensive mobile, and sat for a while in the little cubicle, before edging her way, as quietly as possible, back to her dressing room without anyone seeing her.

She almost made it. Rounding a corner, she bumped into Dwayne, quite literally.

She jumped backwards, almost falling, but he reached out and took her by her shoulders with strong hands to steady her. His touch seemed to light up every nerve in her body, and she had an insane urge to reach up and kiss him, right there and then.

"Whoa there. I guess it's a good job I'm not carrying any liquids, huh?" he said with a grin.

RaeJean felt the humiliation and hurt boil up again inside of her. She shook his hands off her as roughly as she could, and glared up at him.

"Well, I'm glad someone found it amusing. Be sure to laugh about it with all your friends tonight, won't you." She said angrily, before storming off into her room, slamming the door behind her.

Once inside, she realised how heavily she was breathing.

"It's just because I'm angry, that's all it is," she said to herself, but she knew that wasn't it at all. She had been panting like a lovesick puppy ever since she had felt his big strong hands on her shoulders, the way he had reached out to stop her from falling.

She left the arena, and went back to her hotel room, all the time thinking about Dwayne, and the problems a relationship would cause to her social life. She knew what Jo had been trying to tell her; she was a snob, plain and simple, but she couldn't help it, could she? She had enough problems with the media s it was without attracting more attention. Imagine dating a TV actor, and not even that…it just wasn't done…

Then she remembered how he had laughed at her, and the anger built up in her once again. She stormed around her expensive hotel room, slamming cupboard doors, and stamping her feet.

She eventually sat down on her sofa, and waited until it was time to go to the arena and face the crowds.

*   *   *

In his own hotel room, The Rock sat and thought about RaeJean. Couldn't stop thinking about her in fact.  All afternoon, he had stared at her from behind his sunglasses; that's why he had kept them on so long, hoping she wouldn't realise. But he was almost sure that she had been staring back. Almost.

He could understand her being angry at him for laughing at her accident with the water, but what the hell had made her jump up like that in the first place?

"Women," he said with a sigh, and tried to put her out of his mind, a feat that was proving none too easy. He couldn't help but think about the way her face lit up when she smiled, the way her hair flicked about, as if it had a mind of it's own, and her eyes; the eyes that had transfixed him from the very first moment he saw her.

"God, I have got to get control of myself!" he said out loud. I can't have a relationship now, especially not with an actress, and a world famous one at that. It just wasn't possible with their work schedules and him moving about so much…or was he just reasoning himself against the idea? Oh to hell with it, he thought.

"You don't even know if she likes you or not, I mean, you might have been…" he broke off as he heard a stifled laugh coming from behind the door of his hotel room. He stood up quickly, turning towards the door and hoping to god whoever was on the other side was not who he thought it was.

The door opened and a bald head showed itself through the opening.

"You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of madness." Said the figure.

Dwayne groaned, and sat back down on the sofa, head in hands.

"Austin, go away."

"Oooh, tetchy. What's wrong with you? Wait let me guess: women trouble." replied the wrestler.

"Steve, I mean it, I'm not in the mood. And what the hell would you know about it, anyway?" Dwayne answered irritably.

Austin continued as if not hearing. "And I bet it's a certain actress that you are pining over. Vince was just telling me that she caused quite an impact at the arena today. And by the looks of it, you sorry looking son of a bitch, it seems she made quite an impact on you, too."

Dwayne looked up at this. "Really? Do I look bad?" he asked his friend. Although the bitterest of enemies on screen, in life they had always gotten on very well, although exchanging insults was more or less part of the job these days.

Austin laughed again at Dwayne's expression of displeasure mixed with confusion. "Oh dear god, I seen that look before. That is the look of a man in love."

"Don't be ridiculous. I only met her today. And why the hell am I talking to you about this anyway? Go on, get out before I kick your ass…again…" Dwayne said in the most threatening tone he could muster.

"Kick my ass? You just try it son, I dare ya…" warned Austin, a small smirk still on his face. "So, tell me. What happened?"

Dwayne recounted the whole story of the rehearsal finishing up where RaeJean had stormed away from him in the corridor.

"And I haven't seen her since." Dwayne said with a big sigh. He plopped his head in his hands once more.

"Man, have you got it bad…" said Austin shaking his head with pity.

"So what do I do? What if she hates me?"

"Hell, I don't know. Why are you asking me, I already been divorced once, for Christ's sake…" replied Austin.

"What? Then why the hell did you get me to tell you all that, if you weren't going to help me?"

"I dunno, sounded like you had something to tell, that's all. Have fun working it out, won't ya?" Austin left the room, laughing quietly to himself.

"Asshole," muttered The Rock as Austin left. "Now he's going to tell the whole damn world. Shit."

He went back to thinking about RaeJean, and about how he had laughed at her; and about how cute she had looked when she was angry. The colour in her cheeks had risen and she had looked even more beautiful than ever.

"She probably thinks I'm an insensitive asshole," he thought glumly.

*   *   *

"I think he's an insensitive asshole," said RaeJean forcibly in to her phone. "First he laughs at me during what was possibly the most embarrassing moment of my life, and then he has the nerve to bring the whole thing up again as a joke!"

"Harsh." Said the tired voice on the other end of the phone.

"Damn right it was harsh, I have never felt so humiliated." RaeJean answered.

"No, RaeJean, I mean you." Said Jo.

"Me?" asked RaeJean, incredulously.

"Yes, you. The poor guy was probably trying to lighten the mood after seeing how embarrassed you were about it."

"How can you blame me for this? You are supposed to be my friend, you are supposed to give me support, and you are supposed to say, 'yes, of course, I understand, he is a bastard.' "

"Well, there is only so much I can do at 1:00am. Or did you totally forget that you are about six time zones behind me?"

"I'm sorry, but I had to talk to someone, and I couldn't be bothered to explain the whole thing to my Mom…you already knew most of it, so…."

"So you thought you'd wake me up. Look, RaeJean, as a friend giving friendly advice, I say you have to put your damn prejudices behind you, because Tom Cruise is already married, and George Michael is gay. So get over the whole 'I must date a star like me' thing, and get it on with this guy! And, it's not like he's not famous or anything, for god's sake. He has millions and millions of fans…heh heh heh…."

"What? What's so funny?" Asked RaeJean.

"Never mind. You wouldn't get it if I told you. So are you going to?" asked Jo.

"Going to what?" replied RaeJean perplexed.

"Going to ask him out, of course!" said Jo impatiently. "Were you not listening to a word I said?"

"What? Why would I do that? The guy is an asshole…I think…oh I don't know." Said RaeJean, as she slumped down on a big chair in her room, curling her legs beneath her.

"Well, I think you should." Jo said, determinedly. "You wouldn't be this obsessed with him if you didn't like him really…."

"Well, maybe so, but that doesn't change the fact that he is an asshole!"

"Whatever…I'm going now, you sort it out between you. I need sleep for God's sake!"

"Ok, fine…" said RaeJean and hung up the phone. She began to think about what he had said in the corridor, and what Jo had said. Maybe he was just trying to make the whole thing more light-hearted? And I, being the idiot that I am, just didn't realise it?

She groaned. "Well done." She said, resignedly. "Once again, RaeJean, you have managed to screw up a perfectly good relationship potential. Well done."

She looked at her watch, and groaned again. Only a couple of hours until show time; she'd have to leave soon. That left almost no time for self-pity.

"He probably thinks I'm a complete freak…" she said, and pouted.

*   *   *

"She sounds like a complete freak." Said Helmsley, laughing.

"Yeah, apparently, she managed to almost drown one guy in water, bust a TV camera, and collapse a ladder with one movement." Replied Austin, also laughing.

"Hey, leave her alone," said The Rock coming up behind his friends. "Come on guy's, she's ok."

"Did I mention that Dwayne has the hots for her?" said Austin to Helmsley, as if not hearing him.

"Is that so? Well well well…." Said Helmsley, rubbing his chin. He looked at The Rock, one eyebrow raised in a mock gesture.

"Oh, yeah, that's great. Tell him, why don't ya," said Dwayne. "That's all I need, thanks a lot."  He turned on his heel and stormed off.

"Woah, he's got it bad." Said Helmsley, whistling. "Should prove for an interesting night," he said with a gleam in his eye that Austin had seen before.

"No. No way, Helmsley, don't even think about ribbing him in the mood he's in."

"Who me? I'm insulted you would even think of such a thing, Steve…" Helmsley walked off with a swagger and a laugh.

"Oh shit." Austin said under his breath. "Now I'm in trouble."

*   *   *

RaeJean arrived at the arena and went quickly to her dressing room, trying to avoid people in general. She was sure that everyone must have been talking about her after the calamity she had caused that afternoon.

Soon after sitting down, there was a knock at her door. Opening it, RaeJean found her self face to face with a woman of immense proportions. Muscles rippled all over her body, and she looked like she could take on any of the guys that RaeJean had seen that day.

"Hi, I'm Joanie. Just thought I'd come and say hi."

"Er…hi…" said the actress, nervously shaking Joanie's hand.

"Sorry I didn't get to meet you earlier, but Vince didn't think I was needed for the rehearsal…"

"You…you're a wrestler?" asked RaeJean.

"Yeah, my stage name is Chyna. Guess you don't watch much, huh?" Joanie said with a smile.

RaeJean smiled back at her. "No, not all that much. Come in, please, sit down."

"So how are you liking it so far?" asked the wrestler, seating herself on the small sofa.

"Well, it's different. Not at all what I'm used to."

" I guess not. And what about the guys, what do you think of them? I heard you spent a lot of time with Dwayne today."

RaeJean spun round to look at Joanie, eyes flashing, ready to deny everything. "What? What do you mean?"

"Nothing, nothing at all." Joanie said, smiling. "Why, you don't have a thing for him do you?"

"No way!"  the actress said, turning away to hide her flaming cheeks. Get a grip, RaeJean, she thought to herself.

"Well, it would be understandable if you did, I mean, I've seen it happen before."

"Seriously, Joanie, I do not have a thing for him. He's…he's not my type." RaeJean replied. Well, at least the last part is true, she thought. She sat down at the mirror and began fussing with her makeup.

"Well, that's good. I hate seeing him turn the girls away." Said Joanie, standing up.

RaeJean dropped the mascara wand that she had been fiddling with.

"What makes you so sure he would turn me away?" she asked, as light-hearted as she could. She smiled from the corner of her mouth, even though she wanted to cry. Now's she's going to tell me that he's married, the actress thought.

"He didn't tell you? That's strange; he usually tells all the people that he meets straight away. Y'know to get it out of the way. He says it saves embarrassment later."

"What are you talking about?" said RaeJean with mounting horror, a sneaking suspicion worming it's way inside of her, that had nothing to do with thoughts of marriage.

"Well, I don't know if I should tell you…" said the wrestler, opening the door.

The look of pleading in RaeJean's eyes was all that Joanie needed. "Well…the thing is…" she continued, slowly.

"Yes? What?" asked RaeJean frantically; already knowing what Joanie was about to say.

"He's gay. I know to look at him it might seem unlikely, but…well, there it is, out in the open."

RaeJean's stomach did a twist inside her. She felt like she had been gutted. She had to use all her will power to stay calm.

"Oh, is that all?" she said nonchalantly, her voice wavering slightly, but not enough to give her feelings away - she hoped.

"Yeah, that's it." Joanie said, happily. "And I am glad you don't like him, like I said, I hate seeing all these girls disappointed. Well, I gotta run, I'll see ya around." She waved as she left the room.

"Ugh."  That seemed to be all that the actress could manage. "Urgh."

She turned back to her mirror and looked at her reflection. Wondering how she could be so dumb, she began head butting her dresser.

*   *   *

Joanie met Helmsley in the corridor.

"Part One is in action." She said with a sly grin. "Time for part two, he he he…"

"My turn," said Helmsley, returning her grin.

"You are so cruel," said Chyna, laughing.

"Nah, I'll get 'em together eventually. I just want to have some fun first. You sure she likes him too?"

"Are you kidding me? You should've seen her face when I told her he was gay, it was a picture. In fact, I felt a little mean. You sure they gonna see the funny side of this?"

"Of course they will. Like I said, I got a whole plan here. Now, I gotta convince Dwayne…"

*   *   *

Austin walked up to RaeJean's dressing room, hesitating outside of the door. He had to tell her how Dwayne felt about her before Helmsley did. He was about to knock, when the door opened, and he found himself almost bashing the actress in the face.

"Whoa! Hey, what the hell?" exclaimed RaeJean. Her mood had not improved since Joanie's visit ten minutes ago. And she now had a large red mark on her forehead, which made her feel even angrier with herself.

"Oh, hell, sorry, sorry. You're RaeJean, right?"

"Yeah, why?" she asked moodily.

"Well, I'm Steve, Steve Austin."

The actress looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"I work for Vince," Austin added, remembering what The Rock had told him about her. "I'm one of the wrestlers."

"Oh. Right, hi. I'm RaeJean Brown. Pleased to meet you," said the actress icily. The mood she was in she would've been happy to never see another wrestler as long as she lived, and yet they seemed to be swarming at her.

"Pleasure's all mine," Austin said shaking her hand. "I actually came here to talk about Dwayne."

"What? Oh for Christ's sake…" she said, rolling her eyes, and walking back in to her room.

"Excuse me?" asked Austin, confused at her reaction.

"Look, you can save your breath, I already know." She said, turning back to glare at Austin.

"You do? How?"

"This woman told me. One of the wrestlers."

"Which woman? Wait, was she kinda…big?" Austin asked, already knowing.

"Yeah. Very big. And she already told me about Dwayne, and I'm telling you…I don't care. I don't have a thing for him, and I don't care."

"You don't…oh. Ok." Austin said. Shit, now what was he going to tell Dwayne? He was going to be crushed.

RaeJean continued to glare at Austin. "Yeah, exactly. Now if you don't mind, I have to get ready."

"Yeah, sure. Nice meeting you." Said Austin, walking out of the room. So Chyna had gotten to her before he had. And Austin was willing to bet that it was Helmsley who was behind the whole thing. The door slammed behind him.

"Man, was she pissed off. Maybe she does hate him?" Austin rubbed his head, and puzzled over what he was going to tell Dwayne. Whatever it was, he better do it quickly; the show was due to start in twenty minutes.

*   *   *

The Rock stormed down the corridor, fuming over what Triple H had just told him. How could Austin have done this to him?

"Apparently, he went to her dressing room, as soon as he got here." Triple H had told him. "Chyna saw him come out, looking as pleased as punch."

Dwayne had said how ridiculous that was.

"Yeah, that's what we thought, I mean Austin knows you like her right?" Helmsley had continued.

"So, Chyna went to talk to her, and it turns out that Austin had already asked her out on a date. For this evening."

Dwayne had stared at Helmsley in disbelief. "He wouldn't do that." He had said.

"He has done that. I thought I'd better tell you, y'know, just to make sure you didn't ask her out also, just to be told that she was going out with Steve. Sorry man."

Dwayne thought about how sorry he was going to make Austin when he got his hands on him. He smiled a little grim smile, as the thought of beating up Austin cheered him up somewhat.

He spotted Austin at the end of the corridor – outside RaeJean's room.

The Rock stopped in his tracks. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"The son of a bitch can't stay away from her can he?"

He watched as Austin paused outside her door, before wandering off in the other direction. Dwayne was about to run after him, when a voice called him back.

"Dwayne, is everything ok for tonight?" Vince said, coming towards the wrestler down the corridor.

"What?" asked Dwayne still staring at the spot where Austin had been a few moments before.

"I said is everything ok for tonight? I think Helmsley and the rest of DX want to go over some things with you." Vince looked at Dwayne's vacant expression, and began to get worried.

"Yeah. Helmsley, right. Ok." Said Dwayne, still thinking about Austin. How could he do this to me?

"Ok, then." Vince said, frowning. "I'll go talk to RaeJean, see how she's feeling. Unless you want to…" Vince said. He had not failed to notice how she had been looking at Dwayne throughout the day.

"Me?" said The Rock, looking at Vince. "No. No, I have to go and see Helmsley." Dwayne walked away from the owner, the same vacant expression still on his face.

Vince frowned again, before heading to RaeJean's dressing room.

*   *   *

Austin glared at Helmsley. "What exactly did Chyna say to her?"

"Nothing! I don't even know what you're talking about." Helmsley replied.

"Yeah right. Well, whatever the hell she said, RaeJean is pissed as hell."

"RaeJean? You on a first name basis now?" Helmsley said sniggering.

"What?" Austin gave Helmsley a searching look. What the hell was he scheming now?

"Never mind." Helmsley looked at his watch. "Oh look at that, almost show time." Helmsley said, walking away from Austin.

"Helmsley, I'm gonna get to the bottom of this! I mean it!" Austin shouted at Triple H's back. He was answered with Helmsley's laugh, which echoed down the corridor.

"Son of a bitch." Muttered Austin. He hated it when Helmsley got the better of him. "I better find Dwayne. God knows what the hell I'm going to say to him…"

He walked off to find his friend, checking his watch as he went.  Only 10 minute's until show time.

*   *   *

RaeJean stalked down the corridor, on her way to the waiting area behind the curtain. She was supposed to be on straight after the first match. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, thinking about Dwayne. _I feel like such a goddamn fool, _she thought. _How could I have ever imagined that he liked me?_

She opened her eyes to find a good looking, tall man stood in front of her, smirking slightly at her. She blushed, feeling silly.

"Nervous?" he said, still grinning.

"Yeah." She replied, returning the smile. "I'm RaeJean." She said, holding out her hand.

"I know, I'm Shane McMahon, Vince's son. Pleased to meet you."

"Oh, so you're Shane! Right, ok." She said, looking him up and down. _Well, I can see why Jo likes him_, she thought.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, frowning.

"Oh, nothing. I have a friend who is a fan of yours, that's all."

"Oh I see. I know someone who is quite a big fan of yours, actually." He said, grinning mischievously.

"Oh Really?" she said, suddenly feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"Yeah, and I hear you like him too…"

"What? What are you talking about?" RaeJean said almost hysterically. _What the hell is going on here?_

"You and Dwayne, I heard you really hit it off today." Shane replied, getting worried. "You did, didn't you?"

"But…but that's ridiculous, I thought he was gay!" she said.

Shane's eyes grew wide, and he burst out laughing. "What? Who the hell told you that?"

RaeJean stood and watched him laugh while fumbling for an answer. "Well, it was this woman, er…Joanie? Chyna? Whatever her name was…she told me that he was gay…is he not gay?" she said, thoroughly confused.

"No, no, he is definitely not gay. I think someone has been having a little fun with you," Shane said, sympathetically.

"Oh shit…and I told her and that other guy that I didn't like him at all…what am I going to do?" she pleaded with Shane.

"What other guy?" he asked, intrigued as to who else was involved in this little charade.

"Oh I don't know…bald head, goatee…erm, I think his name was Steve something."

"Austin?" he replied. "Austin came to talk to you?"

"Yes, but I thought that he was going to tell me that Dwayne was gay…so I…I didn't let him finish, and I told him that I already knew and…and that I didn't care…oh what am I going to do!" she said in anguished melodrama.

Shane laughed again. "I don't know, but I would start by finding out just who is behind all this…'cos you bet on the fact that you were not the only one whose been ribbed."

Before she could ask what he meant, the fireworks went off, signalling the start of the show, and Shane sprinted away with a quick goodbye. With each new bang from the pyros she jumped, feeling increasingly on edge…and angry for letting herself be tricked…

*   *   *

Shane found The Rock sat in the dressing room, staring at the floor.

"Some one told RaeJean that you're gay," he said. _No sense in beating around the bush with this one,_ he thought.

The wrestler looked up. "What did you say?"

"It was Joanie. She told RaeJean that you are gay! I'm not kidding, she just told me."

"But that's…I'm not gay!" said Dwayne in surprise.

"I know that, but Joanie-"

The door flew open and Austin marched in. "I have been looking for you everywhere. I talked to RaeJean-"

"Yeah, I know all about you and her, you son of a bitch. How could you do that to me?" Dwayne said, standing up.

"What?" asked Austin, confused.

"You asked RaeJean out on a date. Don't try and deny it, Hunter told me all about it."

Shane stood by, the light finally dawning. "Guys…"

"What the hell are you talking about? I never asked her out! Who told you that?"

"Some one who is a hell of a lot better friend than you are you two faced bastard!"

"Guys…I think I know what's going on here…" The two arguing wrestlers ignored Shane's comment.

"Oh really? And who might that be?" Austin said stepping closer to The Rock.

"Helmsley!" Shouted Shane. Both wrestlers turned to look at the heir apparent.

"Yeah…how did you know?" said Dwayne.

"Call it a lucky guess. I think he's been having a little fun with you guys. And I bet he was the one who got Joanie to tell RaeJean that you were gay."

"She thinks you're gay? No wonder she was in such a bad mood when I went to talk to her…" said Austin.

"Ha! So you admit it! You went to ask her out! Didn't you!" said Dwayne triumphantly.

"No, you idiot, I went to tell her that you liked her…I wanted to get to her before Helmsley did, because I had a feeling he might've pulled something like this…I knew that little bastard was up to something." Austin said angrily.

"So she does like me?" asked Dwayne hopefully.

"Well from the reaction I got, I'd say, yes, she definitely likes you. A lot." Shane said, smiling at his friend.

Dwayne grinned – and then frowned. "But how the hell am I supposed to explain all this to her, she's gonna think we're all crazy…I'm gonna kill Helmsley."

"Just ask her out! Be impulsive, sweep her off her feet. Women love that, trust me." Said Austin.

"Trust you? You has been divorced once, and can't even get up the guts to talk to Debra anymore, you're so crazy about her?"

Austin flushed beetroot red. "I can talk to her if I want…" he said quietly.

A chorus of giggles came from the open doorway. As the three wrestlers looked, they saw Hemlsey and Chyna stood in the hallway, almost doubled over with laughter. Hunter looked up with tears in his eyes.

"Oh god…you guys are soooo gullible…ah, Jesus this one is going to go down in history." He said.

"Shane, you better call your talent scouts cos you are about to lose some of your roster. Helmsley, you are dead!" Dwayne said, running towards Helmsley and Joanie, who scooted off down the corridor. Austin ran after his friend, and all four ran around the backstage area, Dwayne and Austin screaming at Helmsley and Joanie all the way.

*   *   *

Vince heard the commotion from his dressing room, and went out in to the corridor, just as four of his wrestlers barrelled into him. They landed in an untidy heap on the floor.

"What in God's name is going on here? Austin, get the hell off me!"

The four wrestlers disentangled themselves from each other, and their boss, and stood up, looking sheepishly at each other.

"Now," Vince said, trying to regain some of his composure. "I don't want to hear about it…just get on with the damn show, please! Helmsley, RaeJean is going out in about 30 seconds, get ready! You too, Dwayne."

The two wrestlers exchanged bemused glances before walking off down the corridor.

"Right, now can we get on with the show, please?" Vince said sternly, looking at Joanie and Austin, before walking back into his dressing room and slamming the door.

"You told her that Dwayne was gay?" Austin said, grinning. Chyna nodded, returning the smile. "That's good, I'm going to have to remember that one," Austin continued.

*   *   *

"So, the Godfather picks up the win over Val Venis," Jim Ross announced.

"Yeah, and what about those ho's JR! Did you see that one in the green dress?" Answered his cohort, Jerry Lawler.

"Folks we got a great show coming up, including our very special guest, RaeJean Brown, who will be interviewed by Michael Cole very shortly right here on Raw!"

"Right! And we got Austin vs The Undertaker in the main event! I can't wait for that match!" The King continued. "And what about The Rock?"

"Well, after what Triple H and Chyna did to The Rock last night on Heat, you can be certain that The Rock is going to want revenge on Helmsley."

"After what I saw them do to him last night, I can't believe he's up and walking around!"

"That's right, King, they certainly did a number on The Great One. But right now, we are about to be joined by our very special guest, Oscar winning actress, RaeJean Brown!"

*   *   *

RaeJean stepped through the curtain and smiled at the enormous crowd. The people were on there feet, cheering for her, and as she made her way down the ramp, she could hear the male members of the audience chanting for her "puppies". She made her way down to the ring, and successfully navigated the ropes; she was glad she had decided on a long dress this time. Michael Cole was waiting for her with a microphone, and as she walked towards him, she felt she had never been so nervous; she knew that Dwayne would probably be watching.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce Ms RaeJean Brown!"  The crowd went wild, and RaeJean smiled, and waved.

"Thank You Michael, it's great to be here with the World Wrestling Federation!" she said. They went through the interview set up, talking about her latest movie as the crowd chanted and cheered. Right on cue, the lights went out, and the DX music came on.

"Oh no," said JR. "Now what the hell is happening?"

"Well, JR, it looks like we are gonna see The Game!"

Triple H and the rest of DX made their way down the ramp to the familiar sounds of the "asshole" chant. RaeJean stood her ground in the centre of the ring, and waited.

"I think RaeJean should get out of there!" The King exclaimed. "There's no telling what Triple H is up to!"

Triple H stepped through the ropes as the rest of DX surrounded the ring. He walked towards RaeJean giving her a leer, before grabbing the microphone from Michael Cole and pushing him over on his ass. He scampered out of the ring, and was taunted on the outside by the Outlaws and X-Pac. Triple H stood close to the actress in the middle of the ring, staring at her intensely before telling the crowd to shut up, which only created more boos.

"I've had enough of this crap. Get your ass out of my ring!" he shouted at RaeJean, as the crowd intensified it's chanting.

"That's no way to treat a lady, Triple H!" said JR.

"He's making her leave! Aargh!"

RaeJean stepped through the ropes, onto the apron, and made her way slowly to the steps, as the rest of DX circled her.

"On second thoughts," said Triple H, rubbing his chin. "I could do with some entertainment backstage!" He signalled to the others, and they ran towards the actress. Billy Gunn grabbed her from the apron and threw her over his shoulder, as the actress kicked and screamed.

"Oh My god!! DX is kidnapping RaeJean Brown!" JR screamed.

"Aaargh!" howled Lawler.

The outlaws managed to get her up the ramp, and stood at the top, crotch chopping at the crowd, as X-Pac joined them. Triple H stood in the ring, grinning smugly; his grin turned to surprise as The Rock's music came on. He stood awaiting The Great One, who came through the crowd and dived in to the ring, just as Triple H dived out. Helmsley backed his way up the ramp, shouting at The Rock as the crowd cheered. The Rock paced around the ring, mouthing insults and threats at Triple H, as he and the rest of DX dragged RaeJean backstage.

"It's gonna be a hell of a night right here on Raw!" shouted JR.

"Poor RaeJean!"

*   *   *

RaeJean was being tied to a chair in the DX dressing room.

"Is that too tight?" Helmsley asked.

"No, it's ok. How long have we got?"

"About 20 minutes."

"I've gotta sit here for 20 minutes? Are you kidding me?"

"Well, the cameras are gonna come back every now and then and show us having our fun with you before the big showdown."

"Oh. Right." RaeJean sighed, and tried to shift in the chair, but the ropes held her in place.

Helmsley watched her and grinned, thinking about Dwayne. He laughed at the thought of the two of them being so miserable over nothing.

"What? What's so funny?" asked RaeJean, perplexed.

"Oh nothing. I was just thinking about something funny that happened today."

"Oh, ok…" said RaeJean, frowning. _This guy is weird…_

*   *   *

The Rock's music blasted out across the arena for the second time that night. The Great One appeared at the top of the ramp and made his way to the ring amidst a massive cheer from the crowd.

"Oh My God! Can you hear the ovation for the Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment!"

"I got a feeling The Rock has a few things he wants to say to Triple H, JR!"

*   *   *

RaeJean sat watching the small monitor in the DX dressing room.

"Wow, they really love him don't they?" she said to Helmsley.

"Yup, that they do," Hunter replied, grinning at the adoring look on the actress's face.

*   *   *

"Finally, The Rock has come back to Houston!" The crowd went insane as The Great One began his interview with his usual catchphrase.

"Triple H, you think you impress The Great One by coming down here, and kidnapping the _Oscar Winning actress, RaeJean Brown?_ Well, The Rock says, that he's going to take that Oscar," he paused for the crowd, as they went wild.

"I think I know what's coming JR!" said Lawler.

"Shine it up real nice…turn that sum'bitch sideways, and stick it straight up your candy ass!"

*   *   *

"Ouch…that's a bit harsh, isn't it?" RaeJean asked in surprise.

"Oh don't worry, he says it every week." Helmsley replied.

"He does?"

"Yeah, but not always about your Oscar of course. It can be anything. Once he said he was gonna stick The Undertaker's own head up his candy ass."

RaeJean looked wide-eyed back at the monitor. "And people **_like_** this?"

"Oh yeah."

*   *   *

"The Rock is intense tonight, King." Said JR.

"In fact, The Rock says, he's gonna come back stage and kick your monkey ass right now. If ya smeeelllllllllllll…what The Rock…" He paused again to give the crowd the People's Eyebrow. "…is cooking."

The wrestler threw down the microphone and dived out of the ring; he walked up the ramp with a purpose, as the crowd went wild.

*   *   *

Triple H went out into the corridor to meet The Rock, and they brawled noisily in front of the cameras, eventually making their way into the dressing room, where the rest of DX was waiting to pound on The Rock; which they did with great enthusiasm - until Mankind ran in with a baseball bat, and chased the entire group down the corridor, leaving The Rock with the actress, pleading to be released.

The wrestler looked at her, and raised his perfectly plucked eyebrow in her direction.

"Are you going to untie me or not?" she said, indignantly, listening to the crowd's cheers that echoed all the way backstage.

"The Rock says, he's going to untie you – but first, let him ask…what is your name?"

"You know what my name is, it's –"

"It Doesn't Matter What Your Name Is!" Said the wrestler, and laughed as he bent to untie the ropes holding to the chair. When she was free, he pulled the chair out from under her, and she landed on the floor in an untidy heap.

"Wha…!" she exclaimed, as the crowd laughed and cheered. She stood up and looked at the wrestler indignantly. She didn't notice the cameras leave as Dwayne took her hands and pulled her close to him.

_This wasn't in the script, _She thought as he pressed her body to his. _Well, he did say they do a lot of improvisation…_That was the last thought she had before he kissed her, and everything else flew from her mind. She kissed him back without even thinking about it, and as their lips blended together, he raised one of his hands to caress the back of her neck, while pulling her closer with his other. She stood on her toes, and reached up to run her hands through his hair. The kiss only lasted a few minutes but to her it seemed like forever, and she didn't want it to end. He lifted his head back from hers and stared into her eyes. She blushed fiercely and tried to pull away but he wouldn't let her. She looked around for the cameras and then looked back at him when she finally realised they were alone.

"I'm not gay." He said, defiantly.

"So it would seem," She replied grinning, and turned her face towards his for another kiss. At the door, Helmsley and Austin stood, watching unnoticed. They looked at each other and grinned.

"See, I told ya they'd get together eventually." Helmsley whispered.

"Yeah, no thanks to you." Replied Austin.

"Ah, lighten up Austin. I got some gossip for you too, Y'know."

"What? Oh no, Helmsley. You're not getting me that way. Uh uh."

"Ok, fine." Hunter said as he sauntered off down the corridor. "If you don't want to know what Debra said about you, that's fine by me…"

Austin gulped. "What? What did she say? Helmsley, wait up!"

The End


End file.
